Contemplation about "Progressive Rock"

(Arne Schäfer, August 1996)

I had written the present essay about progressive rock in German langiage from the viewpoint of an artist in spring 1997. While reworking the versus X and Apogee Websites in spring 2017, I finally translated it to english, so more of you can share my ideas. If anyone likes to discuss the various aspects of Prog music with me, you are always welcome to send me an e-mail.

The genre of "Progressive Rock" will be subject of this essay, its history, the various sub-genres, and not least the characters of its listeners.

My considerations are limited to personal and thus subjective views on this subject, but I will always strive for an objective presentation of the underlying musical and factual circumstances.

I shall thus report like a music critic, who, in spite of the undisputed and necessary freedom of opinion, is able to present the objectively representable facts as completely as possible and in such a way that the interested reader receives enough information - even if his opinion is considerably different from mine – to enable the reader to form his own judgment according to his own musical history and interests.

Historical Outline
The Mysticism of Long Tracks
The Listeners of Progressive Rock
Lyrics of Progressive Rock
The Role of Sound in Progressive Rock
The Composition in Progressive Rock
The Dilemma of the ongoing Progression